Just to Feel That Way
by My Personal Rose
Summary: Eclaire! I warned you... My own take on the events of Season 3 from episode 7, what happens during, after... and events that may follow... Elle and Claire ship. Don't read if you don't like this.
1. Pain

_**AN: Warning, this IS an Eclaire (an Elle and Claire pairing) and will contain femslash. It also carries SPOILERS for Season 3 Episode 7.**_

_**This is my first attempt at an Eclaire, but I think I'm really starting to love this pairing. :)**_

_**please review to tell me what you thought, but no flamers please. I like to know what people think of this, but I have already warned that this is a femslash and the other stuff.**_

_**I don't own the characters or the show... but this take on the episode is mine. Will end up as a two or three shot. Enjoy!**_

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_Let's walk on the wireI won't let you go  
We'll follow the streetlights  
Down this jagged road  
We'll break it all open  
Finding our way  
We might end up broken and wounded  
But baby it's worth it  
For even one day  
Just to fall apart  
I don't care  
I'm not going anywhere  
Without you being here by my side  
Yeah I just don't feel right  
We'll follow the streetlights..._

_Taylor Hicks- Just to Feel That Way_

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"Big tough company agent can't handle being 30 thousand feet up?" Claire teased, a smirk on her face. Elle's head went down a little, a blush striking her cheeks.

"Yeah, well... I was never a very good agent."

"So I read." Claire continued to taunt. "You let all those villains escape on level five, right?" Elle turned to her, her forehead creased in confusion and embarrasment. How did Claire know? Why did everyone have to know... especially when they didn't know the facts. There was nothing she could have done to stop that...

"Shut up." Elle said, trying to make it sound like she didn't care.

Claire turned to stare forward, a cocky look on her face. "Yeah, I caught Doyle, I helped clean up your mess."

"Doyle?"

"Yeah, freak with the puppets... this agent thing isn't so hard..."

"You know, my father pushed me into this life, I wanted no part of it, and if you do, you're an idiot!" Her body started to crackle, electric energy dancing on her skin in waves.

"Elle..." Claire muttered, realising she'd overdone it. She'd pushed her too far...

"You have no idea how good you have it!" Elle cried out, her breath shaky as electricity ran through her entire body like a crappy short circuit board. The lights on the plane went out for a moment, and she heard people to cry out in shock as the plane faltered. A part of her didn't care... she couldn't even think right now...

Claire watched Elle, her eyes moving down her body to the shocks coming from her hands, being conducted by the plane seat, to the other girl's fearful eyes. _Why did I tease her? Elle had already been scared enough as it was._ _Why did I have to say anything?_

"_This is your captain... can I please remind all passengers to turn off all electrical equipment, thank you._"

Claire shuffled slightly in her seat, giving Elle another once over. "I think he's talking about you."

"Shut up!" Elle whispered, panic obvious in her tone, not even able to be as angry as she wanted to be at Claire. She was tired, her body was exhausted and she didn't know how to cope with the pain she was in. She tightened her grip on the metal armrests, and the plane gave another shudder.

"Seriously... calm down!" Claire tried to soothe, but her voice came out urgent, realising that if Elle didn't... bad things would happen. "You have to turn it off or we're going to to crash..."

"If I knew how to do that I wouldn't _be here _in the _first place_!" Elle gritted her teeth... her entire body felt like it was on fire, she had god knows how many volts crashing through her system. Did Claire _really _think she would be doing this on purpose? Seriously?!?!

A huge jolt of energy escaped Elle's body, and the entire plane was plunged into darkness, luggage falling out of compartments, people feeling the same change of speed in their stomachs as the plane stopped moving forward, and started to move down with no sense of control. A refreshment cart came hurtling down the aisle, bound to hurt anyone not in their seat.

"Take my hand!" Claire said, and Elle gave her a look like she was crazy. "Just let me help you, dock your electricity into me!" Elle looked away, shaking her head as she tried to focus on breathing, but Claire was having none of it. "Do it!"

Elle felt the plane jolt forcefully as she pulled her hand away from her armrest, grabbing hold of Claire's hand as tightly as she could. They both shook underneath the power of it, their eyes unable to leave their two entwined hands, the bright blue electricity encasing them in an almost beautiful way.

And then Claire felt her breath leave her forcefully as fire ran down her arm and up her body... her body panicked, screaming in silent pain, and her eyes closed tightly as the plane started to rebalance itself, the lights switching back on a few at a time.

Elle's eyes moved once again the their hands before she looked at Claire who's eyes were focused on whatever was straight ahead of her. Claire drew her eyes away slowly, a big grin plastered on her face. "We did it..." The cheerleader said, turning to look at Elle.

Elle almost couldn't help but smile back, realising this was probably the first time she'd smiled since Sylar had attacked her, since her father had died...

Her smile faltered as she looked down at their still conjoined hands. "Do you mind?" She murmured, and Claire had quickly complied before shifting uneasily in her seat, her eyes focusing on her own hand as it healed the electrical burns scattered along it's surface. Her breathing had almost returned to normal when she shot one last look at Elle before getting up speedily, mumbling something about needing to wash her face.

She now sat in the facilities, her head in her hands, her face tear streaked, stained a little by her mascara. Why had she... she shook her head, turning on the hot tap, waiting till it steamed up the small bathroom mirror before placing her hand underneath it. Nothing. No pain, no heat that she couldn't stand to put her hand through... just the feeling of water running over her hands, lukewarm to say the least. It could just have been a crappy tap, but the redness of her hand went against that theory, and as she pulled it away she felt it heal. She did the same with the hand she'd given to Elle as a jump line... still nothing.

"Claire?" She heard Elle's voice call through the door, and she tried not to allow herself to cry as she thought of how she'd might have been cured for a moment, how maybe she could feel again.

"What?" She asked, unable to stop on large sob wrack through her body, causing her shoulder's to shake.

"Just... are you okay in there? You've been a while."

Claire unlocked the door, wiping her eyes as she faced Elle. "Why do you care?" She asked, knowing her voice was laced with ice... which she almost felt bad about.

"You just did something nice for me Claire. You helped me out of a sticky situation, and you stopped me having to feel this... pain for a while. But you being in there's a bit unnerving... sooo..."

"Come in."

"What?"

"Quickly, while no one's looking." Claire said, and Elle stepped through the door into the tiny compartment, locking the door behind her.

"Have you been crying?"

"I... no, I... yeah." The cheerleader admitted reluctantly. "For a moment I thought I was cured, I thought I was okay. For a moment I felt right again."

"What are you talking about?" Elle asked, a frown creasing her brow. "Is this about what happened back there?"

"Elle... when you held my hand... when you shocked the living hell out of me... it awakened something. I could feel it... every second of it..."

"Oh God, I hurt you?" Elle asked, her voice hard to read. "I'm sorry..."

"No. It's okay." Claire sighed.

"It is?" Confusion underlined her voice. "I don't understand..."

"Elle, for so long I haven't felt pain... I haven't felt the one thing that's made me human all of this time. Every time I healed it always hurt, but it was supposed to. And when that stopped, when I lost that... I lost some of myself."

"So that's it? You can feel again? You're okay?" Elle sat down heavily on the closed toilet seat, a sadness in her eyes. "Does this mean you're not coming with me... that I have to go alone?"

"No, of course not. I won't leave, because for some reason I couldn't feel it when I tried to burn myself."

"Wow, cheerleader, you're a lot crazier than I give you credit for..."

"But I don't... I don't get it. I can't feel that, and I probably couldn't feel a punch in the face like I oughta be able to right now... so why can I feel you?"

Elle shrugged, standing up to face Claire. "I don't know."

There was a long silence before Claire raised her head to look Elle directly in the eyes. "Can I feel it again?"

Elle paused, the frown still on her face as she raised her hand to stroke some of Claire's hair back into place, her hand letting out a small, gentle shock as she grazed Claire's cheek.

For a long moment they stared at each other, eyes darting from lips to eyes, filled with a desire neither had felt before.

Claire wanted what only Elle could give her... pain, the feeling of being human again that she so desired...

Elle could feel what Claire wanted, and her body tingled with more than just electricity as she felt wanted... something she'd never felt in her life... and the overwhelming need to give Claire exactly what she needed filled her chest as she breathed in before lifting Claire's chin, placing her lips an inch away from the other blonde's, letting a small spark jump the gap between their lips.

It was all Claire needed to convince her to follow what her body was screaming at her to do, placing a hand firmly in Elle's hair and pulling her face towards her to close the remaining gap between their lips, her back hitting the wall as Elle's momentum pressed her against the tiles. The kiss was firm, almost painful from the force both girl's put behind it, and Elle placed her hand on the small of Claire's back, letting out a burst that made Claire writhe in her arms. The cheerleader moaned loudly and placed her other hand behind Elle's neck, her nails digging in as Elle shocked her again, moving the hand on her chin to rest on Claire's stomach, her fingers barely grazing her as a constant flow of low volt electricity danced on Claire's skin.

"Oh God, Elle..." Claire moaned, and Elle suddenly pulled away, her eyes full of confusion. "What?"

There was no response as Elle almost flew out of the toilet, her head full of voices telling her she was stupid, what was she thinking, that this wasn't for her. But God. She'd never let anyone get her so close as she'd just let Claire. She hadn't been able to... the urge to shock the boyfriend at the time always bigger than the urge to lie there and let him love her. But with Claire she could let herself go... and that scared her more than anything.

Claire stood for a moment or two, breathless, frustrated and agitated in the toilet before she stumbled out to hear the captain announce that they were landing soon and that they should put on their seat belts. She headed back to her seat, watching Elle as she sat staring out of the window, her seatbelt already on as she fiddled with her hands, trying not to touch the arm rests. But Claire could see it starting already. Landing was often the worst part for a lot of flyers, and it didn't seem as if Elle was going to be an exception. Electricity was already working its way outside of her body, and before long Claire knew she would be panicking enough to make the plane's engines cut out moments before the landing.

"Here." She whispered, offering Elle her hand, and Elle looked over at it, avoiding looking Claire directly in the eyes as she laced her finger's with the world's most invulnerable girl as the panic rose in her body before focusing on shocking the beauty that sat next to her.

"I'm sorry." Elle whispered as Claire's eyes shut tightly, her entire body screaming in pain as she gritted her teeth to keep her from actually screaming. Elle twisted her body in her seat to watch Claire's face, still so beautiful as she screwed up her eyes in pain. She reached out her free hand as if to touch her cheek, but stopped a hair's width away from her skin, a tear slipping down her own paler cheek as she watched the closest thing she'd ever had to a friend just trying to breathe. She knew how this felt. It was how she felt every time she 'short circuited'. Like everything within you was dying. "I'm so sorry."

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_**Next chapter up soon... even quicker if you give me some inspiration, lol.**_


	2. Contact

_**A/N: Okay… so Chapter 2… I hope this is okay. It's short… but it's also late… I was inspired by a great review or two. Anyways, I solemnly thank those who reviewed the last Chapter. I only hope this feeds you what you're after.**_

_**Btw, this scene… main reason this story is rated M if you catch my drift. Girl stuff happens, homophobes… go find urself a life. Ok, I'm good. XP**_

_**The song I use for a split moment is 'I Have the Touch' originally by Peter Gabrielle. I prefer Heather Nova's version, as featured on the end**_ _**credits of 'The Craft'. Great film. Better singer. Anyways…. I hope you enjoy…**_

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The cab to the hotel had been awkward to say the least. For Elle it had mostly been because she didn't have a clue what to say after a situation like this. At all. She'd bailed on the best make out session she'd ever had because… because of what exactly?

And then to make matters worse she'd shocked the girl half to death… granted she didn't die. She couldn't, but Elle felt a twist in her gut every time she thought about it. What was that? Guilt? She wouldn't know, to be honest.

It wasn't something she was very familiar with.

She looked over at the painfully close bed of the other girl. Claire looked up and she looked away quickly to focus on her nails, trying to control the churning feeling in her stomach; like she might throw up at any minute.

Claire's voice was husky as she spoke the first sentence that wasn't compulsory since they'd got off of the flight. "You okay there?"

Elle slowly drew her eyes away from her hand, almost dreading meeting the cheerleader's eyes.

"Yeah, of course." She faked a smile, wondering if, and how much sleep she'd get tonight. 'None' was the most likely answer. And that was all she needed, a night laying awake, sleepily wondering when her next spasm was going to jolt her back to a fully awakened state. A night of no sleep meant a night of thinking. And she was in no state to think without crying right now (which actually hurt quite a bit). Especially with a certain cheerleader sleeping in a bed not four feet from her. She felt a small jolt ripple through her body, and did her best to hold back a wince. "I'm fine."

"Right." Claire said, her voice betraying how much she believed her new roommate.

"What?" Elle asked as Claire gave her an off look.

"Nothing… it's just…" Elle suddenly let out a tiny cry as another unexpected surge ran through her body, this time bigger than she'd care to live with. Claire cocked her head at the girl that had been her arch-enemy not so long ago. "You're not okay, are you?"

"What do you think, Pom Pom?" Sarcasm raided Elle's tone, her voice a little sharper than it would usually sound. "I'm letting out random bursts of electricity that… freaking hurt, and I would really kill for a shower. But stepping into a stream of running water might just about kill me at the moment. I'm also dreading not getting any sleep tonight, because I really don't know how long I can go on being this tired… and if these Pinehearst people don't do anything to help us tomorrow…" She was cut off, throwing her head back as a current ran through her, her body burning.

"What?" Claire asked after a long moment of watching Elle sit with her eyes screwed up in pain.

Elle shook her head, her eyes watery as she tried to shake off both her physical and emotional pain like a fly that was irritating her face. "Nothing. If they can't fix it then we'll find another way." Almost mechanically she reached up, stretching her arms, barely flinching as a spark licked at the corner of her eye before she stood up and headed to the bathroom, locking the door behind her.

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Claire threw herself back onto her bed, turning her head to stare at the white paint of the bathroom door. Now what?

Should she see if Elle was okay? Maybe all she would get would be a brush off… but surely it was worth a shot.

"I should have tried to talk to her earlier." Claire sighed, sitting up and hugging her knees. She held her breath, trying to listen for a sound, any sound.

There was a quiet sobbing, under toned by the heavy, laboured breathing of somebody in great pain.

She had to help. Sitting here, knowing she could be taking that pain away from Elle? It tore her up inside… plus the idea of it was almost tempting… the connection she'd felt on the plane… the energy surging through her body…

"Shut up Claire. This isn't about you." The younger girl sighed, before gently knocking on the bathroom door. "Elle?"

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"Elle?"

Elle groaned inwardly, resisting the urge to scream, to call out to the girl on the other side of the door. Just knowing that the other girl could take this pain away was almost too much to bear, knowing a simple touch would be enough to give her a few minutes rest from this constant pain.

"What do you want?" The comment came out harsh. She hadn't meant it to. But Elle was a hard person to please at the best of times… her current situation definitely hadn't improved her mood over the last week and a bit.

She craved to just let herself fling open the door and jump Claire like some kind of an animal, to feed her hunger, her inner sadist.

"To help."

Elle was silent for a moment… Claire _wanted_ to be her conductor? She thought back to Claire's words on the plane.

"…_when you shocked the living hell out of me... it awakened something. I could feel it... every second of it... Can I feel it again?"_

Maybe she needed this as much as Elle did… to let herself go… to lose herself a little?

Elle got up silently, opening the door to lean against the frame. She resisted the urge to shock Claire where she stood.

"How could you… just… how?"

Claire just smiled, and held out her hand for Elle to take. The older woman stared at it for a moment, and smiled a little as she gripped hold of it before Claire led her over to the cheerleader's bed.

"Like this." Claire's voice was barely above a whisper as she gently guided Elle onto the bed, taking both of her hands and lacing their fingers together as she towered over the other girl. For the first time she noticed the child like innocence in her eyes, only outdone by the fire she could see within them.

Elle took in a deep breath as the pain came to an abrupt halt, merely leaving a tingling sensation where Claire's skin touched her own. "Better?"

Elle nodded meekly, her body tensing as Claire's legs moved to straddle her own hips, and she noticed the cheerleader frown in concern. "Too much?" Elle shook her head… no way. She wanted this… almost as badly as the smirking girl in front of her.

"Good…" Claire said, moving to place her lips against Elle's neck. The sensation sent a shiver up Elle's spine, causing her to move her hip, and Claire moaned a little, reclaiming one of her hands to lift Elle's chin for a kiss, her thumb wiping away the tear streak on her cheek. Their lips moved gently across one another, and Elle couldn't resist letting out a small whimper as Claire tightened her grip on Elle's face a little to pull her closer, the passion rising in their bodies as Claire ran her teeth over Elle's bottom lip. In response Elle let out a small shock, almost on instinct.

Claire's moan was all she needed, removing herself from Claire's grip on hand to slip off the leather jacket, making sure their lips stayed together, moving in rhythm, both mutually understanding the need to stay in contact with each other at all times.

_I'm waiting for ignition, I'm looking for a spark_

Claire wrapped her legs around Elle's waist, lifting the other girl's t-shirt a little before lifting her own and pushing her body against Elle's. Elle hissed as the point of contact moved to her stomach as Claire pulled her t-shirt over her head, hissing as Elle let off another tiny burst of energy.

_Any chance collision and I light up in the dark_

When both of their tops were off they reclaimed each other's mouths, Elle letting small crackles of lightning shoot directly into the cheerleader's mouth, her body soaring.

"Elle…" Claire moaned, and Elle closed her eyes and let her unbutton her jeans, doing her best to get Claire's off while not losing touch.

_There you stand before me, all that fur and all that hair_

Finally unclothed they fell back onto the bed, Elle moaning as Claire smoothly rubbed her breasts, the tingling and the feeling combining to a point where Elle felt nothing but need. A need for Claire. Again she let off a spark, and Claire let out a short, sharp scream, a mix of pleasure and pain, throwing her head back as the burn healed as quickly as it had appeared.

_Oh, do I dare ... I have the touch_

They looked into each other's eyes for a deep moment, their legs entwined. Claire lowered a hand, and Elle gasped as she placed two fingers inside of her. It seemed like a good idea to do the same to Claire, and she copied her movements, curling her fingers against her will as Claire hit her spot.

Claire let out another loud, husky moan, laced with the sound of sex as Elle ran her fingers through Claire's hair, slowly sliding out her fingers before thrusting them in again.

_Wanting contact_

Claire stopped moving for a moment, and Elle whimpered in anguish, just needing… this.

Elle's eyes suddenly watered, her back arching with her hips as Claire quickened her pace until Claire's moans were almost constant… a rhythm to match Elle's own, only interrupted by shaky gasps of breath.

_I'm wanting contact_

"Cl…Claire…"

"Elle… I'm almost there…"

Elle let out a small sound, trapping most of it in her throat as she squealed a little, her whole body starting to shake.

_I'm wanting contact with you_

Above her Claire threw her head back in a feverish sweat of moans, her body shining, her entire self tensing with her orgasm. Her fingers clenched inside of Elle, and Elle let out a scream as her own orgasm hit her, electricity suddenly bursting from her body in an explosion of blue light.

She closed her eyes, half expecting something to have changed when she next opened them. Had she thrown Claire across the room? Killed her? No, that was stupid… and she could still hear her breathing, small, sharp breaths, little but often… feel her grip tangled in her hair and her own hand in Claire's blonde locks.

Slowly Claire slid herself out of Elle, and lay down her body so she was still covering one half of Elle.

"Elle?" She breathed, frowning at the other girl's tightly shut eyes. "You okay?"

Elle opened her eyes, almost reluctantly, and was glad to see Claire's youthful face above her own, a gentle stare ready to meet her eyes.

"I'm f-fine. Did I hurt you?"

"No… but you blew the lights."

"Oh… just for in here?" Elle blinked, noticing for the first time that the only light in the room was moonlight. Besides that there was total darkness, not even a street lamp interrupted the glow. "Oh, shit…" She murmured, sitting up. Claire moved with her, almost automatically, gripping her hand in case she decided to stand up.

They walked over to the window, each grabbing an end of Claire's duvet and wrapping it around their shoulders.  
"Whoa…" Claire whispered. Outside there was pitch black. They could see the faint outlines of buildings, cars and street lamps, but there was no light radiating from any of them. "Not just for here."

"I wiped out the entire block…" Elle said, her jaw dropping a little as she scanned the streets.

"Yeah… but look on the bright side."

"There's a bright side?"

"Yeah… we figured out how to keep your pain at bay. And also… look."

Elle followed her gaze to the sky above them. The moon was bright, that was for sure, but each and every star was brighter than Elle had ever seen them.

Elle felt her lips curl into a smile as she glanced at Claire, who was grinning at her. "I've never seen anything so… totally amazing." She noticed Claire's smile once again turn into a smirk. "What?"

"I'm just biting my tongue, trying not to say anything really cheesy right now."

Elle laughed, knowing she'd dropped the perfect movie line in the cheerleader's lap.

"Why do you do it?" Claire blurted suddenly, and Elle frowned at her a little, pulling the duvet closer to her body.

"Do what?"

"Work for the company? I mean… you don't seem like a bad person."

Elle turned her stare back to the night sky, a shrug brushing her silhouette. "It's where I was bought up. I've been there since I was four years old… training. It's all I know. And it was all I had. Without it I would have been alone. But now, with Dad gone… I guess I was always gonna end up alone. But I liked the idea of putting it off. Even if I was doing a job I hated half of the time. Sometimes it was good… we helped people. Locked them up. Other times we made things… worse."

"You know, you're not who I thought you were."

"Well… then maybe you shouldn't judge before you punch." Elle smiled, tightening her grip on Claire's hand.

"Will you be able to sleep tonight?"

"Depends… will you be with me?"

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	3. Electric

_**AN: Syelle will never get in the way of Eclaire! Well, not in my eyes. To me they really bonded, and Sylar makes Elle a little happy... which I like, so I'm not against them. Just... Eclaire makes more sense to me.**_

_**Anyways, therefore you might find that as the story goes on (the chapter after this will take place during episode 9) little things may change. But mostly they will be scenes in between the ones we see.**_

_**Anyways, enjoy!**_

_xoxoxoxoxoxoxox_

"_What if there's something wrong with all of us and they can fix it?"_

"_You're fine... you're perfect..."_

"_No. I'm not. Whatever's happening to you, it's happening to me too."_

"_You're still healing aren't you?"_

"_Yeah... but I can't feel pain... and I think it's only a matter of time before I can't feel anything at all.__..__"_

Claire blinked slowly, her eyes attempting to get used to the sunlight pouring in from the bay windows from across the bed. She smiled a little as she became aware of a body pressed against her own, the warmth spreading across her back, right down to the arm draped across her stomach. She held her breath for a moment to listen to Elle breathing; long, steady breaths. Calm, and filled with the sound of sleep. A relaxed sleep. With no pain to speak of.

She turned in Elle's arms as gently as she could, hoping not to wake the other girl. She failed, Elle's eyes fluttering open, lazily having a look around before closing again, the blonde letting out a moan that Claire would have taken more seriously if she hadn't been smiling.

"Morning."

"Does it have to be?" Elle groaned.

"I guess, if you ever want to get your problem fixed." Claire suppressed a laugh as Elle shook her head, burying her face deep into Claire's shoulder.

"Maybe I don't want it fixed." Elle mumbled, her words muffled against Claire's skin.

"And why's that?" Claire frowned a little, wondering what had bought this on.

"Because..." Elle pulled away from Claire a little, biting her lip. Her arm still lay across Claire's stomach, keeping the contact. "It's a little stupid."

"What is it?" Claire cupped Elle's cheek, her thumb stroking her cheek bone softly.

"Because I don't want it fixed if it means I get to be with you..." Elle trailed off. When Claire didn't reply she sat up, hugging her knees, Claire taking a hold of her hand as she waited for what Elle was trying to say. "Without this... overloading thing I've got going on I never would have gone to your house, looking for your dad... I never would have figured out you had something wrong with you too, that you weren't... perfect. Or as perfect as I thought you were. I never would have nearly bought that plane down... and as stupid as it is to admit this, that was the most connected I'd ever felt to someone in all my life. Till last night at least." Elle sighed, turning her head to meet Claire's watchful eyes. "I never would have let you get this close."

"I'm glad you did." Claire said, sitting up, her body twisted to face Elle's. She felt a jolt go through her hand, and knew how vulnerable Elle was feeling at the moment. "I'm glad we did this. And the aeroplane... all of it. But I can't... when I'm not touching you, holding you... I hate the fact your in pain. Like the fact I should go and have a shower..." Elle's eyes widened at the mention of water and Claire leaving her. "But I won't. We'll just go and see these people... get our powers sorted. But I won't leave just because you don't need me."

"You promise?"

"I promise..." Claire whispered, placing a chaste kiss on Elle's lips.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Within an hour they were out of the house, Claire's travel bag slung over her shoulder, both wearing the same clothes as yesterday with a few more wrinkles.

"So, how do we get there?" Elle asked, and Claire shrugged.

"I don't know. We could hire a car. Or I think I've still got enough money for train fare. At least we've got the address." She pulled out the card, staring at it for a moment.

"Can you drive?"

"Yeah, of course."

Elle smiled, walking over to a black car. A nice, shiny black car. "Come on then."

"You're going to steal it?"

"No money wasted. Simple as. Anyway, the people round here can afford it." Elle said, wincing as a shock drilled through her body. She shook it off, placing her hands against the car door. It unlocked with a click, and she smiled. "I love how people rely on electricity."

Claire smiled, getting into the driver's side, her eyes watching as Elle opened the glove compartment, rearranging the wires as if she'd had to do it often.

"You know how to hot wire a car?"

"I tended to... accidentally blow up the ones the company gave me. To get home I'd have to take another." She shrugged. "It's only wires."

"Only wires? I hate wires... they confuse me... even when colour coded."

"I just understand them." Elle said as the car started, the radio switching on automatically. "They work a lot like I do."

Claire smiled softly at Elle as she put the car into gear, checked her points and started to drive.

"_-And in local news a blackout cut the lights for three blocks in New Jersey last night. Experts say it had nothing to do with the cities electrical supply. John Reese reports..._

"_Here at the power plant experts are saying the blackout could have been due to an EMP of some kind. Traffic was held up for a total of six hours. Two environmental groups have already come forward, claiming that they caused the incident. Friends of the Earth and Global Warning claim that the world is so reliant on electricity and technology that it needs to be shown how flawed it is..."-"_

Elle shut off the radio, switching it to CD, hoping that whoever owned the car had some kind of decent taste in music at least. She smiled, leaning her head back to listen to the music.

"_...He's every subject  
Of every song  
Like the wind carries  
He moves me along  
And the shadows I can't run from  
They won't let me go  
He's the ending of a story  
That I'll never know"_

"You know this song?" Claire asked, and Elle nodded her head.

"Tristan Prettyman. Electric."

"You okay?"

"Yeah... I think I am. I mean, I hurt... I ache, but I feel better for getting a good night's sleep."

"Good to know." Claire smiled.

"_He's electric  
Can't forget it  
Yeah he's electric  
Don't forget it  
Sometimes he fills me up  
Sometimes it's such a shock  
This is more than I bargained for  
More than I would have bought"_

"What did you mean? Yesterday on the plane. You said your dad... forced you into the agent thing."

"I was just bought up that way." Elle shrugged. "He always wanted me to be like him. I was just never cut out for that kind of life." A shock ran through her, locking and unlocking the door as her sparks hit the door handle.

"You okay?"

"My dad... he isn't my best subject. Not since what Noah told me. I mean, I always looked up to him, always wanted to impress him. And he... he stopped me from having any kind of a life." She looked over to Claire, who's eyes were staring straight ahead of her.

_"__You still look at me  
With well acquainted eyes  
As the memories come flooding back  
In a field of butterflies_  
_It's electric  
Don't forget  
Yeah it's electric  
I can't forget it  
I know there's hope in there  
But I wanna walk away  
He's says it's bright in there  
Even in lighter shades of grey  
And though it looks like rain  
I'm not gonna cry  
As the seasons are changing  
In your heart  
So will I  
I will fly..."_

"This song... it really calms me down you know? It's like breathing in smoke for all of your life, and then suddenly your on a mountain, breathing in fresh unsoiled air... do you get that?"

"I get that." Claire nodded, a smile playing on her lips. "I think we're almost there. That might be it."

"What, that big building called Pinehearst? Couldn't possibly."

Claire laughed a little as she pulled up outside the big white building, glancing at the symbol above the name. "I know that symbol."

"Me too. I feel like I see it everywhere." Elle sighed, turning to Claire. "Ready?"

"Let's do it."

They got out of the car, and Elle found herself panicking a little as she looked around. What if this was wrong? What if this place was wrong? Within a moment the panic became too much for her and her body crackled with electricity as she doubled over in pain. She gasped, letting out a painful moan, and Claire was there in a moment, supporting Elle, holding her underneath her arms. Elle tried to focus on breathing, clutching her stomach and Claire's arm to keep herself under control.

"Hold on, we're almost there." Claire said, and Elle nodded. "You alright?"

"Yeah." Elle said. There was a pause, and Elle turned her head to look Claire directly in the eyes. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For helping me." Elle shook her head, her words sounding stupid even to herself. "I've been nothing but a bitch, you've been nothing but sweet. It really just makes me hate you more..." She smiled to show Claire she was kinda joking, and Claire smiled back. She knew a part of her hated Elle, just as a part of Elle hated Claire. But something was happening to override that instinct. Whatever that something was... it was good.

"No, I should be the one thanking you."

"Why?" Elle asked softly, but her face, especially her eyes showed her confusion.

"Because I was ready to give up." Claire shrugged, looking down, her fingers playing with Elle's hand. "Stay at home, deny everything that's been happening to me." She shrugged. "I was scared."

"Scared of what?"

"What I might find out about who I really am."

Elle smiled. "It's just... it's nice to know that you're as messed up as I am."

Claire laughed, knowing the truth of the statement. Their eyes met, and Claire tugged a little on Elle's hand to pull her closer. Their lips were about to brush when a crash was heard from over head, and both girl's looked up. Peter crashed to the ground, the glass showering around him.

"Oh my God, Peter, Peter!" Claire ran to Peter's side, and Elle ran after her, watching them closely, a look of shock, maybe horror on her face as Claire helped Peter off of the ground. But she noticed one thing just before the words "Why are you still bleeding?" were out of Claire's mouth.

"He's not healing." A part of her felt sorry for Peter... this didn't look good... but another part realised what this meant. What this could mean for her.

"He took my ability... we need to go." Peter managed, and Elle turned to look at the huge building, hope showing on her face.

"Elle, help me get him in the car!" Claire asked, her eyes pleading. Elle turned away from them, stepping onto the path. What she was about to do was going to break a piece of her... but she needed this ability either gone or under control.

"Claire... did you hear what he said?" She spun round to face Claire, her face full of emotions... she was desperate. "That they took his ability, that's what we came here for!"

"You don't know what happened up there." Claire frowned. It could be dangerous... he might not just take her ability he could kill her...

"I'm sorry, Claire..." Elle's eyes showed she meant it, and Claire felt her eyes sting with tears as she watched the other blonde run into the mysterious building.

"Elle!"

"Leave her..." Peter muttered, but Claire couldn't take her eyes away from Elle's back as she ran.

"I..." Claire reached out her hand... wanting to go after her, but knew that getting Peter somewhere safe was important right now. She let out a frustrated cry as she started to support Peter to the car. As she helped him into the back seat so he could lay down she turned back, her heart hammering in her chest, screaming at her to go back as a pained scream resonated from the building. "Elle..." She murmured, turning back.

"Come on Claire!" Peter groaned from inside the car. "It's just Elle."

Claire frowned, getting into the drivers seat. She took the handbrake off, the car still running. There'd been no point in switching it off. It wasn't even theirs.

_It's just Elle. _

"That's the problem." Claire muttered to herself, taking Peter to somewhere, anywhere that they could rest for a little while.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Elle collapsed the the floor almost as soon as she was in the door, bolts of electricity shooting off of her in all directions. People scrambled out of the way as two guys in suits went down on the floor, either dead or unconscious as she shot however many hundreds of volts through them.

She screamed in pain, even as two guards dressed from head to toe in rubber, plastic visors on their faces, armed with hard plastic batons rushed to her side. A man with a gun of some sort held it towards her, ready to fire it.

"If you don't turn off your power, I'll shoot." He commanded. Another burst ran through her body, and she pressed her hand against the floor, the other holding her stomach like it might help as she screamed in agony. "M'am, I said if you don't turn off your power..."

"I can't!" She cried out. "I honestly can't, that's why I'm here..."

An order was barked over his radio, and the man frowned, putting away his gun before moving to the front desk. There he was handed what looked like a rifle of some kind. Elle tried to stand, but one of the rubber men grabbed her arms, holding them behind her back.

The next thing she felt was the dart pierce the tender skin of her neck. Her powers surged, wiping the lights out on the floor in one swift movement before her eyes drooped, and she fell limp in the man's arms, her sight getting dimmer, her eyes getting harder to keep open.

"Mr Petrelli wants this one in a cell. Make sure she's restrained for her awakening."

The last thing she felt was relief as her power tired out before she did, leaving her in a painless sleep.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxox

_**AN: If you liked it... please leave me some inspiration... s'all I ask. I have a few more chapters left in me I think. Andnext chapter, make sure u've watched episode 9, there will be spoilers... but don't expect me not to change things.**_

_**And anyways, isnt that new little button just begging to be pressed? Lol... I hope this was ok. :P**_


	4. Nothing Heals Me Like You Do

_**AN: Hello again! First of all let me apologise for the delay in updating, even as new Heroe's episodes keep popping up I was struggling with myself about where I wanted to take this story. I now have a very clear idea which I intend to follow through. I should apologise if there's any obvious mistakes in here that I've missed out, or if my timing is off in the episodes because I'm tired. I seem to have become strangely irregular in my sleeping pattern and discovered that going to bed earlier than normal has also made me wake up way too early. Hence writing this story at half six in the morning. I may go back to bed soon... in fact that seems like a fantastic idea!**_

_**Well, if you have something to say then please feel free to comment, I'd love to know your opinions and how much of an audience (roughly) that I'm getting for this story. Plus it's always very inspiring when someone writes a good, detailed review.**_

_**I'd like to thank Live2rite... purely because she keeps urging me whenever I'm feeling bored and lazy to write something. Though this isn't quite what she had in mind. I'm sure she would have preferred a nice Liley... hence my next story shall be a Liley. :) I've officially rambled for too long, and don't understand why you're still reading the AN when you could be reading stories... pfft... they let anyone on this site nowadays.....**_

_And when somebody knows you well  
Well there's no comfort like that  
And when somebody needs you  
Well there's no drug Iike that  
And where l'm home, curled in your arms  
And I'm safe again  
I'll close my eyes and sleep  
To the sound of London Rain  
Nothing falls like London Rain  
Nothing heals me like you do_

**London Rain (Nothing Heals Me Like You Do) – Heather Nova**

xoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Gabrielle frowned, squinting in the darkness at the form down the other end of the cell. A flash of blue and a crackle of electricity instantly made him realise who this was, what his father was allowing him to do. Make amends, and hopefully acquire her power without harming her. The last thing he wanted to do was kill Elle of all people.

After all, he had saved his life.

She raised her head slowly, her eyes filled with a primal fear, and a thirst for revenge. Anger surged through her veins, causing the reaction that seemed to happen so frequently now. Sparks crackled against her skin, lighting up her face. Her hands opened slowly and she focused her power to her palms, focusing on the balls of electricity in her hands as she stood, her hair a mess from where she'd run her hands through it countless times in the hours she'd been chained here, waiting for someone, anyone... except him.

"You..." She gritted her teeth, her skin sparking off once more before she flung her hands forward, thrusting as much of her power as she could at him.

His body burned as he was thrown back by the sheer force of it, his back hitting the floor with a sickening thud. Instantly his body started to heal, and he gasped for breath... his body recovering from the shock.

Elle paced the other end of the cell like a tiger in a cage, impatiently waiting for her kill.

"_Murderer!_"

xoxoxoxoxoxoxox

"We should keep moving." Peter half-whispered, finishing his decent down the sewer ladder. Claire nodded absent mindedly, knowing her head wasn't where it should be right now.

"What if Elle got herself into trouble?"

"What?" Peter asked as they continued down the sewer way.

"You said they tried to kill you, and he took your powers. So she could be totally helpless right now. She could be hurt."

"When did you start caring about Elle? She's not... _right_ Claire."

"I know but..."

"Then why were you even with her?"

"We just had something in common, a purpose. So we stuck together."

"And now you're best buddies? Claire, she's killed people."

"She can't help it, Peter. She was bought up that way, she never got to learn the same morals as we did."

Peter sighed heavily. "We'll keep going then we'll separate."

And suddenly Claire's head was back in the game. "Separate?"

xoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Elle frowned as Sylar leaned closer to her, his hand moving to her waist, and she jumped back as if he'd shocked her (no pun intended... well maybe a little one). No... fixing her didn't make this okay. Sure, she was grateful but he was still a killer. Granted, so was she, but she was on a different path. One she hope to carry on following.

"Elle?" His voice betrayed his pain, his feeling of rejection, and she closed her eyes, looking away.

"Gabrielle, I-"

Any further conversation was ended as the huge metal door opened with a bang, and standing in the doorway was the silhouette of none other than Arthur Petrelli.

"Hello Elle." Elle opened her eyes slowly, lifting her head to the man who had helped her, by default. "I'm going to make you an offer you can't refuse..."

xoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Claire stared out of the window, half listening as Nathan talked to Peter in the background, her mind elsewhere.

"You okay there?" The blonde woman that had come in with Nathan approached her, and Claire turned to her, not sure how to reply. "I'm Tracy."

"Claire."

"I know. I mean, I guessed. Noah and Nathan were talking about you earlier."

"All good things I hope."

"All good." Tracy smiled, leaning on the wall to face Claire, who was still pretty focused on outside. "Are you looking for someone?"

"No... not really." Claire shrugged, letting out a small sigh. "It's stupid."

"You can tell me... I won't breathe a word." Claire continued to stare out of the window, knowing that if she looked away for a second she might crack. If she looked into Tracy's oh so familiar eyes... eyes she'd seen before, she was sure of it... she might be tempted to spill everything. "Is it a guy?" Claire's breath hitched at Tracy's words, and the older woman nodded. "Definitely someone you like."

"Trust me. It's not a guy."

"Really? You just look like you're missing something... or someone?"

"I am." Claire turned to Tracy, forcing a small smile. "But it's not a guy." She headed back over to Peter's side, Tracy following close behind her.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Claire sighed, her face turning up to face the night sky as rain poured down on her face from the sky above. She ran her fingers over her face, embracing the dampness on her skin, her hands moving up to slide through her soaked hair. She shook her head, looking around her a little. She was outside the hotel they'd stayed at last night, hoping that maybe... just maybe Elle had gone back. That maybe she hadn't really gone into the Pinehearst building. Above all else she hoped they hadn't killed her like they'd tried to kill Peter.

She shuddered at the thought of the damage currently on his body. She'd left him with Nathan and Tracy tonight. They said they'd stay until they had to leave in the morning, to go and see Arthur. That was a strange thought.

Arthur Petrelli. Her biological grandfather. A man she'd never met (and didn't particularly want to) was doing something with the powers of other heroes. Absorbing them somehow. From what Peter had said it sounded like he technically had Elle's power already... she only hoped that it would mean Elle got off easily.

The thought that maybe Arthur would just deem her useless nagged at the back of her mind, and she shook her head, closing her eyes as she tried not to think of her.

"_It's just Elle."_ The words echoed in Claire's head, bouncing off of her other thoughts, and she sniffed as she stared ahead of her, not even acknowledging the sounds of someone walking down the street towards her, just leant heavily against the wet bricks of the hotel wall.

She hardly flinched when a hand grabbed her shoulder, pushing her roughly, her head smacking the rough surface behind her with enough force to wake her up from her trance like state. She felt warmth on the back of her head, and sighed as she once again missed out on the pain of another injury.

_Most people would be happy about that._

"What do you want?" Claire sighed, her voice heavy with weariness.

The tall man frowned in what she assumed was confusion, making sure the knife glinted in what little moonlight there was as he held it towards her neck. "Anything you've got, your money, you phone, cards..."

"I haven't got anything." Claire shrugged.

"Liar!" He cried out, and pushed the blade against her cheek, moving it in a jerky movement. She could only tell he'd cut it when he pulled it away again, one side of the blade stained. She felt movement on her cheek, and knew it must have been healing, but the man wasn't paying attention to that, and his hands shook, his eyes darting around as he scratched his unshaven chin. "Just give me what you've got, and you won't get hurt-" He was cut off when a piece of pipe was slammed into his head, and he fell to the floor, out cold.

"C'mon." Elle said, meeting Claire's eyes, a smile hidden below the icey blue stare. "Let's get you inside."

Claire just allowed herself to be lead into the hotel, Elle's arm draped around her shoulders. Once they were in the lobby Elle stepped away to talk to the receptionist, who immediately called upon the hotel security as another woman took her place at the desk.

Claire could do nothing but stare at Elle. Her body was perfect, her clothes damp, but she looked amazing. Like she'd had the weight that had been dragging her down lifted off of her shoulders. Then it clicked. The thing that was different. Elle's body wasn't pulsating electricity. She was no longer standing in the stance of a woman trying to hide the fact she was in pain. She was just standing like she'd seen Elle do before this whole series of events started.

Had she truly go her powers fixed? Had Pinehearst really helped her?

Claire also noticed that she hadn't used her powers outside of the hotel either... and Elle had never been one to hold back from giving somebody a shock, big or small.

They got a hotel room, not too dissimilar from the last one they'd shared, and Elle had immediately walked into the bathroom, grabbing the hair dryer and blow drying every inch of her body. She was done within a few minutes before handing it to Claire, who followed suit, still too shocked at the other blonde's appearance to really say anything.

Once they were both dry and wearing the complimentary dressing gowns, they sat down on one of the beds. Claire sat cross legged, while Elle was perched on the edge of the bed, only half facing her.

"Why did you let them do it?" Claire frowned, studying Elle's eyes.

"Do what?"

"Your powers."

Elle mimicked her frown, trying to figure the cheerleader out. "You mean these ones?" She raised her hand, an arch of electricity spreading over her palm.

"You still have them!" Claire smiled, and Elle laughed at the look on her face.

"Yeah... it was unconventional. But I did get help there."

Claire was about to ask another question when Elle suddenly leaned forward, capturing her lips with her own.

"When I was there... all I could really think about was you." She whispered, and Claire gave her a soft smile, touching her cheek.

"I know the feeling. You certainly had me distracted."

"It's so strange." Elle admitted, looking down at her hands. "I hated you."

"Well, I hated you too! Though most of that was due to my dad telling me you were nothing but a killer."

"I thought you were just too damn perfect. I mean you had your close-knit little family, you've been to school all your life." Elle looked up, her tone jokey, but her words serious. "I know not many kinda like school but I would have given anything..."

"I'm glad I saw what was beneath the surface." Claire studied Elle's face, her thumb running gently over the woman's pale skin. "I mean this is a side of you that I never would have experienced if our power's hadn't freaked out."

Elle's face suddenly broke into a seductive smile, as she sent a tiny shock throughout her body. Claire's hand flinched, but her smile stayed, getting bigger if that was possible. She understood Elle's need to break up the moment... it was difficult to talk about for Claire, let alone Elle who'd never had much of a chance to experience these feelings.

"What made you think I'd given up my powers?" Elle tilted her head, and Claire looked out the window where there were still the remnants of police lights. "Oh, that. I said I'd talk to them tomorrow morning. We were tired..." Claire nodded, but that obviously wasn't what she was asking. "And the reason I didn't use my powers is because it was raining."

Claire giggled to herself quietly. "Oh." She'd totally forgotten that flaw in Elle's powers. "And you still tried to protect me?"

"I know he couldn't hurt you. But no one's allowed to try..." She ran her sparking fingers over Claire's torso, and the cheerleader moaned loudly, her throat husky. "Except for me."

They locked eyes, deciding mutually that nothing further needed to be said. Their lips touched, and their mouth opened to allow the other the chance to communicate the raw passion they were feeling at this moment in time, their lips colliding heavily, forcefully as they silently told each other what was lingering deep in the back of both their minds.

They pulled away after a moment, Elle's eyes staying tightly closed. "Wait..." She whispered. Claire waited, and received no other requests beside a soft kiss on the corner of her lips as Elle opened her eyes to stare deeply into her own.

They said more than Elle could ever say out loud, and Claire felt her stomach do a tiny flip as Elle's lips gently massaged her own, her hands running every so lightly over Claire's body.

Claire moved her legs out of their Indian-style position, wrapping them through Elle's her thing pushing into Elle's centre, whilst Elle's did the same to hers. Elle pulled away for a moment, placing up her hands as Claire tried to continue the kissing session.

"Is something wrong?" The cheerleader asked, her voice panicky. Elle was reminded of herself last night, the one not totally sure of herself. Elle shook her head gently, sliding off Claire's dressing gown, her fingers lingering on Claire's skin, sliding across to her breasts and down her stomach.

"I just wanted to see you."

Claire smiled as Elle leant in for another kiss, unable to put off her need any longer, her hands tracing a pattern across Elle's thigh...

xoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Elle slipped her arm out as gently as she could from her lover, biting her lip as she grabbed her clothes off of the floor. She stepped into her pants, trying to make as little noise as possible.

"You're leaving?"

"I have to go back." Elle mumbled quietly, not turning to face Claire. Guilt hung heavily in her stomach as she focused on doing up her pants.

"Back?" Claire screwed up her forehead, as she tried to figure out what on Earth Elle was talking about. Elle had been dreading this. She had a feeling Claire wasn't going to agree with her actions, knowing they'd thrown her Uncle out of a window and all. "To Pinehearst?" Elle simply nodded. "But Elle, you can't take them on all on your own! We need a plan of attack."

"No, we don't." Elle sighed as she buttoned up her shirt.

"Excuse me?"

"I said 'No, _we_ don't'." Elle finally turned towards the cheerleader, and her stomach did the twisty thing it was doing oh so often now. "I'm not attacking them."

"But... but why?"

"They helped me."

"Arthur Petrelli-"

"Is a good guy. He's trying to save the world. He... he asked me to help him."

"He threw Peter out of a window."

"Sylar did that."

"Well then Arthur allowed him to!"

"He _also_ taught Sylar how to use his powers, in a non offensive way!" Elle felt her voice raise itself against her will. That hadn't been her intention. She didn't want to get angry at Claire.

"What do you mean?"

"He was the one who fixed me. He didn't hurt me... he just talked to me, forced the emotion breaking down my power's out of me." Elle sat heavily on the bed, her shoulder's slumping in a sigh. "Well, most of it. And he used it to copy my powers. He doesn't have to hurt anyone because of Arthur."

Claire was silent for a moment. "You're really going to join another company?"

"I... I belong there." Elle stood up, pulling on her jacket, and Claire stood grabbing her gown off the floor and pulling it on as fast as she could.

"No, Elle, you don't. You can get away from that, away from all of this! It'll only end up hurting you. Or making you do something you'll regret."

Elle stared at Claire for a long moment. "I have to go."

"Elle..."

"I'm sorry Claire, I really am... but I can't give this up. Not even for someone I..."

_Say it._ Claire urged, but Elle remained silent. "I love you." She whispered and Elle shook her head, taking a step backwards, closer to the door.

"Goodbye, Claire." Her words were soft, contrasted only by the slam of the door as she left the room in one swift movement, and Claire clamped a hand over her mouth, half collapsing onto the bed as a single sob ripped through her body. She turned sharply, smacking her fist into the wall with a force that surprised even her. Her knuckles came away a bloody mess, and more tears fell down her cheeks as she watched them heal painlessly, her entire body numb.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxox

_I don't know if I can yell any louder  
How many time have I kicked you outta here?  
Or said something insulting?  
I can be so mean when I wanna be  
I am capable of really anything  
I can cut you into pieces  
When my heart is....broken  
Please don't leave me  
Please don't leave me  
I always say how I don't need you  
But it's always gonna come right back to this  
Please, don't leave me _

**Pink- Please Don't Leave Me**


End file.
